Machine for vacuumizing and closing filled oblong cans



1, 1950 A. L. KRONQUEST MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 rare/2406655 MI s Aug. 1, 1950 A. L. KRONQUEST MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Filed June 24, 1944 g- 1950 A. L. KRONQUEST 2, 1 2

MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Fiied June 24, 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 gjvvucvvfon L/Z 13.21 ran/ 66662 arms Aug. 1, 1950 A. 1.. KRONQUEST 2,

MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Filed June 24, 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig)" Aug. 1, 1950 A. KRONQUEST MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 24, 1944 NNN .fiLjaronguesz g 1950 A. KRONQUEST 2, 1

MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Filed June 24, 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Aug. 1, 1950 A. KRONQUEST 2,517,

MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Filed June 24, 1944 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Patented Aug. 1, 1950 MACHINE FOR VACUUMIZING AND CLOSING FILLED OBLONG CANS Alfred L. Kronquest, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Continental Can 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application June 24, 1944, Serial No. 542,021

17 Claims.

The invention relates generally to can closing machines and primarily seeks to provide a novel machine structure adapted for vacuumizing and closing the oblong cans in which meat usually is packaged, although the invention is not to be considered limited to the packaging of an particular product.

More specifically, the invention resides in providing a machine of the character stated in which is included a peripherally pocketed turret into the pockets of which the filled cans are individually received, means for indexing the turret to serially present the pockets thereof at various stations, means for feedin covers into the pockets at one station, means for feeding filled cans into the pockets at another station and for effectin a preassemblyof the can and its complementary cover at the station at which the can is received, a vacuum shoe engaging the periphcry of the turret over the positions of several pockets and upper and lower plates between which the turret engages and which seal the shoe opposing pockets against ingress of air, a seaming head located over the plates and having seaming devices therein for securing the covers on the can after they have been vacuumized, and

means for discharging the closed cans from the" turret pockets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which the seaming head rests upon the upper vacuum sealed plate and includes means for pivotally supporting the head for swinging movement about a vertical axis, and means for lifting and lowering the head so as to engage the same with or disengage the same from the upper seal plate to permit swinging of the head from an operative posi seeming head bottom and said plate and definitely place the head with respect to said plate and an opening formed therein and through which the cans are lifted into proper cooperative relation with the seaming devices within the head for being closed by the latter,

Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the character stated a novel seaming head mounting for the head comprising a verticall disposed head supporting column, means for swingably mounting the column for swinging movement about a vertical axis, a captive screw sleeve rota-tably engaging an externally threaded portion of the column, and means for turning the sleeve for lifting and lowering the column.

Another object .of the invention is to provide in a machine of the character stated .a novel spill duct surrounding the container lifting pad beneath the lower seal plate, a spill trap connected with said duct, and a vacuum source connection communicating with the vacuum shoe through the spill duct.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the character stated a turret structure having each pocket therein equipped with a cover receiving shelf or recess at the entrance of which is mounted a pair of retainer lugs which overhang at the entrance into the recess in a manner for engaging corners of the covers and preventing radial outward movement thereof, and novel spring plate means mounted over the pocket position at which covers are fed into the pockets and effective to assure that each cover is properly seated in its receiving recess and depressed therein behind the overhanging retaining lug portions.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the character stated filled can feeding means including a continuously travelling conveyor which feeds the cans toward but not into the turret pockets at the station at i which the cans and covers are preassembled, and

a four-motion pusher which pushes each can from the continuously travelling conveyor into the turret pocket presented at the preassembly station, the full seating of the filled container .being followed b a lifting of the can into preassembly contact with the cover seated in the pocket at a preassembly station.

Another object of the inventionis to provide in a machine of thecharacter stated, a rigidly mounted abutment hlock closely overlying each turret pocket as it is presented at the preassemmy station and which will take any upthrust directed against the underlying, pocket contained cover incidental to the upward movement of the filled container during the preassembly of the container and its complementary cover Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine, of the character stated novel means for overlying the turret pockets as they travel between the cover feed station and the position of the abutment block at the preassembly station for assuring against any upward displacement of the covers from the pocket recesses.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the relation of the turret, the vacuum shoe and seal plates, the seaming head, the cover feed, the sealed can feed and the closed can discharging means, the seaming head being shown swung to an out-of-theway position in dot and dash lines.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken through the machine through the centers of the seaming head and the cover feed means, parts broken away to better illustrate the drive connections between the main drive shaft and the seammg mechanism drive shaft.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section illustrating the means for effecting lifting or lowering of the seaming head.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section on the same line which Figure 2 was taken but looking in the opposite direction.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary face view illustrating the arrangement of the spill trap and the suction source connection.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the cover placing plate, the hold-down plate and the abutment block, said hold-down plate and said block being mounted at the cover feed station and the cover and can preassembly station respectively.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a turret pocket disposed beneath the cover placing plate.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical cross section taken through a turret pocket positioned at the cover feed station.

Figure 9 is a detail plan view illustrating the lower seal plate.

Figure 10 is a detail plan view illustrating the upper seal plate.

Figure 11 is a detail plan view illustrating the vacuum shoe.

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through a turret pocket positioned at the preassembly station, the can being shown as lifted to the preassembly position and the fourmotion feed dog as having started its movement of retraction.

Figure 13 is a vertical cross section through the pocket and parts illustrated in Figure 12.

Figure 14 is an enlarged sectional view showing fragments of a can and closure complement preassembled in a turret pocket.

In the example of embodiment of the invention herein disclosed the machine includes a base framing A whereon is mounted a peripherally pocketed turret B which is indexed, station by station, to present its pocket at a cover feed station C whereat the covers are fed into the turret pockets, a filled can feeding or preassembly Sta-- tion E whereat the filled cans are fed into the. turret pockets by feeding devices generally designated F and lifted into preassembly contact with their complementary covers, a closing station G whereat the covers are secured on the cans by seaming devices generally designated. 1-1 after 4 evacuation of air from the cans, and a discharging station I whereat the vacuumized and closed cans are discharged from the turret pockets by discharging devices generally designated J.

In the machine framing A there are arranged bearings 5 in which there is rotatably mounted a drive shaft 6 having a driver pulley l loosely mounted thereon, the latter being driven by a belt 8 from a power source not shown. Rotation of the pulley is imparted to the shaft only when clutch mechanism generall designated 9 is propcrly actuated, and the shaft 6 is equipped with a hand wheel ill so that the various mechanisms of the machine can be turned over by hand whenever it is desired to do so.

The horizontally disposed shaft 6 has a bevel gear ll secured thereon which meshes with a bevel gear l2 affixed to a vertically disposed shaft !3 rotatable in bearings provided therefor in the frame well [4. The shaft l3 has a spur gear 15 secured on its lower end, and this spur gear meshes with a spur gear I6 of like diameter fixed on the lower end of a seaming mechanism drive shaft I! which is rotatable in an upright position in bearings l8 provided therefor in the frame well 19.

The seaming mechanism drive shaft [1 extends upwardly through a large supporting sleeve or support column 20 which is oscillatably mounted in a frame well 2|. A portion of the sleeve 20 is externally threaded as at 22 and is surrounded by an internally threaded adjustor sleeve 23 which is supported on a thrust bearing 24. The adjustor sleeve includes a worm wheel portion 25 which is engaged by a worm gear 26 secured on an adjustor shaft 21 which is rotatable in frame bearing 28 and equipped with a hand wheel 29. See Figure 3. It will be obvious that by rotating the hand wheel 29 in one direction or the other, r0- tation of the captive sleeve 23 will be effected and lifting or lowering movement will be imparted to the seaming head supporting sleeve or support column 20 according to the direction in which the hand wheel is turned. A latch bolt 39 is slidably mounted in a frame bearing 3| and is insertible into a recess 32 in the seaming head supporting sleeve or support column 20 so as to be effective to secure the sleeve against rotary movement about its axis when it has been moved to bring about an out-of-the-way positioning of the seaming head in the manner illustrated in dot and dash lines in Figure 1.

A turret shaft 33 is supported uprightly in frame bearings 34 and 35 and has an indexing head secured to its lower end in the manner best illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings. The indexing head is equipped with a plurality of equidistantly spaced depending rollers 36, there being one roller for each turret pocket or station. The turret B is secured on top of the shaft 33 and includes a skeletonized body 3'! having 8 equidistantly spaced and radially disposed peripherally open pockets 3%. Each pocket has a pair of can side engaging and guiding projections 38 therein, spaced a distance above the bottom of the pockets suflicient to permit lifting of the cans in the pockets, and a cover supporting ledge 40 confined at the outer or open end thereof by a pair of cover holder lugs 41 each having an inwardly projected or overhanging portion 42. It will be apparent by reference to Figure 6 of the drawings that the lug portions 42 so engage the outer corners of a cover properly seated onits receiving ledge 40 that said cover will be securely held against radial outward movement.

The desired indexing of the turret is effected in a manner well known in the artby an indexing cam 43 engageable with the indexing rollers 35, said cam being fixed-on the camshaft M which is rotatably supported in a horizontal position in the machine frame and driven by a worm wheel couple 45 with the main drive shaft 15.

A sleeve 46 is rotatable about theturrent shaft 33 and rests on .a thrust bearing 41. The sleeve is equipped with a spur .gearAB at its upper end and has a barrel cam 49 secured thereto, the latter being equipped with apreassembly pad lifting and lowering groove and a chucking pad lifting and lowering groove5l. Thes'leeve 46 and the attached cam 49 are driven by a spur gear 52 which meshes with the cam ear 48 and is secured .on the upper end of a .shait 53 rotatable in a vertical position in a frame bearing 54. At its lower end, the shaft 553 is bevel gear coupled as at 55 with .a horizontally disposed drive shaft .56 which is rotatable in a frame bearing 5! and is driven through thefjm'ed'ium of a spur gear couple 53 with a driver shaft fifi rotatablein frame bearings BB and in turndriven through the medium of a bevel gear couple 6| with the cam shaft 44. The shaft 5E also has a bevel gear couple 62 with a captive sleeve 63 rotatably mounted in the frame bearing 64 and having a spline connection with the cover feed drive shaft 65. See Figures .2 andd.

At the position of the closing station G and extending over slightly more than one full station at each side thereof, a bottom seal plate 56 is secured upon the machine frame. See Figures 1 and 9. The plate 65 is equipped with an opening P.

for accommodating the positioning and movement of the chucking pad which will be referred to hereinafter... Upon thefplatetli is secured an arcuate vacuum shoe 68 said shoe being shown in detail in Figure 1.1. The turret periphery opposing face of the shoeis equipped with an arouate vacuum clearance 69, and the shoe is equipped with a vacuum duct .10 leading through the bottom thereof and into the clearance 69 said duct opening downwardly into a spill duct 1.! surrounding the closing station G below the seal plate B6 and having a low point 12. which connects through a frame duct 13 with a vacuum source connection 14, said duct 13 also leading into a spill trap 15 in the manner best illustrated in Figure 5. The shoe. 68 is provided at its upper face with upwardly projected dowels 16 for engaging in recesses and definitely placing the top seal plate ll which is secured upon the shoe $8. The top seal platefl'l is provided with a can passing center opening 18 and an upstanding centering boss surrounding said opening and sealplates 56 and 11. It will be apparent by ref- .erence to Figure 1 that the shoeand plates are so proportioned that three of the turret pockets will engage with the shoefbetween the. upper and lower seal plates. The vacuum clearance 59 is of a length for extending slightly past a pocket disposed at the closing station G, and in the. opposite direction far enough to communicate with a pocket disposed in the station preceding the closing station. The turret engages in air tight contact with the inner surface of the shoe and the opposing surfaces of the seal plates, and in order to facilitate the air seal it is preferred that the inner *face of the shoe which opposes the periphery of the turret be lapped and scraped, and that the turret opposing faces of the seal plates be ground and lapped, and also chromium plated and polished.

The seaming head, including the seaming devices hereinbefore generally designated H and referred to as located at the closing station G,

includes a seaming head casing Bl wherein the seaming devices are housed. The casing is secured at 82 on the supporting sleeve or support column 29 and the sleeve is normally adjusted so that the bottom plate 83 or the casing rests upon the top seal plate ill in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 2 and. 4 of the drawings with the top seal plate hoss l9 snugly seated in the opening in the bottom plate 83 and with the casing effectively sealed against ingress of air by contact of said bottom plate with the sealing gasket 89. It is to he understood that a vacuum is continuously drawn in the shoe 68, in thethree turret pockets disposed between the upper and lower seal plates l? and 65 as illustrated in Figure 1, and in the communicatin interior of the seaming head casing dl. The casing is provided with gage 8 so that the state of the vacuum drawn in the casing, the turret pockets and the shoe always will be apparent to an operator observing the operation of the machine.

The seaming device drive shaft ll is spline connected as at cc to the drive gear sleeve 86 within the seaming head and imparts rotation to the gearing generall designated Bl through which the rotor $8 and the cam drive gear 89 of the seaming head are rotated; The chuck against which the cans are lifted and which is surrounded by the seaming rolls and levers is indi issued to A. L. Kronquest on January 27, 1942.

A chucking pad 9! is disposed in and operates through the opening 6? in the lower seal plate 65, and the pad 9! is supported on astem 92 equipped with a roller 93 which engages inthe lifting and lowering groove 5! in the barrel cam 49. See Figures 2 and 4.

The cover reed drive shaft drives the rotor 94- and the crank gear 85 which form a part of the device for imparting straight line reciprocation to the feed dog 95 by which the can closures or covers s are fed one by' one from the stack 98 past the marker $9 to the turret pockets as they are serially presented at the cover feed station C. The'vertically reciprocable marker 93 is reciprocated by the rotary grooved cam Hill which is driven through the medium of the gear couple I01 from the feed drive shaft 65. r

While the covers are being fed to the serially presented turret pockets they slide over guides H92 which accurately guide them onto the receiving ledges so of the turret pockets. An arcuate bracket W3 is preferably hlngedly mounted as at M on the machine framing and is equipped with bracket pieces Hi5 which are secured in parallel spaced relation to the under surface of the plate Hi3, one thereof losing disposed at each side of apocket presented at the cover feed station C. Theihner' ends of the pieces Hi ,provide a pivotal support as at I06 for a cover seating plate Iii! which is equipped at its outer end with a cam nose portion I08 presented in alignment with the cover guide ways i012. See: Figures 6, 7 and 8. A plunger I89 projecting upwardly from the free end of the plate It? extends through an opening in the bracket [plate I83, and a compression spring Iii) surrounds the plunger I09 between the upper surface of the seating plate E01 and the under surface of the bracket plate H33 and serves to yieldably depress the outer the retainer lugs M of said pocket, and as the corners of the trailing end of the cover pass over and inwardly beyond said lug portions 42, said end will be depressed by the sprin pressed plate I01 and accurately placed behind said lug per-- tions in the position clearly illustrated in Fi ure 6, thereby assuring against objectionableradial outward displacement of covers on the receiving ledges 46 of the pockets.

In order to assure against displacement upwardly of the covers while the turret is being indexed from the cover feed station C to the preassembly station E, an arcuate hold-down track. or plate I I 2 is secured to and beneath the bracket plate I03 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 6 and '7 of the drawings. The plate H2 is shaped at its end as at [I3 to bear angular relation to a line drawn radially from the turret center and to conform to the shape of the extended angular portion II4 of the abutment block I I5 which is screw secured as at lit to the supporting bracket III which is in turn rigidly secured as at I I 8 to the seaming head housing ii I See Figures 1, 6, 12 and 13. The lift pad H9 dis- .posed at the preassembly station E has a supportin stem I equipped with a roller I2I which engages in the preassembly pad lifting and low-- ering groove 50 of the barrel cam 49. As each. filled can is fully seated in the turret pocket presented at the preasseinbly station E and upon the lift pad I I9, said pad is lifted by action of the cam groove 50 to lift the can into preassembled rela tion or contact with the complementary cover ill in the manner illustrated in Figures 12 and 13, the lifted position of the pad being illustrated in said figures in full lines and the lowering positions of said pad being indicated in dotted lines in Figure 12.

Any approved filled can feeding means may be employed for feeding filled cans into the turret pockets, and vacuumized and closed cans from said pockets in the manner diagrammatically illustrated in Figure l, and an example of such mechanism is illustrated in detail in U. S. Letters Patent 2,846,511 issued to Otto A. Schmitt on April 11, 1944. An acceptable feed mechanism is somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in the present disclosure and forms the subject matter of a copending application for U. S. Letters Patent filed by Alfred L. Kronquest on June 24, 1944, and identified by Serial No. 542,020, now Patent No. 2,378,855.

The feeding mechanism above referred to as forming the subject matter of a copending patent application includes a horizontally reciprocable thrust bar I22 which is reciprocated in properly timed relation to the moving parts of the machine and driven from a moving part of the machine by means not shown. This feeding mechanism also includes an endless chain I23 provided with suitably spaced feed lugs I24 for feeding the filled cans I25 over feed-ways I26 to a point short of the turret pocket presented at the preassembly station E, as will be apparent by reference to Figures 1 and 12 of the drawings. A four-motion feed dog I2! serves to feed the filled cans from the terminus of the feeder chain I23 to the turret and into the pockets thereof as they are serially presented at the preassembly station E. The four-motion feed dog is mounted on a slide I28 which is laterally reciprocable in a guide provided therefor in a head I29 which is secured to one end of the reciprocable thrust bar I22 as shown in Figure 1. The slide I28 is laterally reciprocated by a rocker arm I30 which is fork connected at one end to the slide, pivoted intermediate its ends as at I3I on the head I29 and has a roller provided at its other end engaged in a longitudinal groove on a slide I32 which is laterally slidable by operation of the rotary cam and roller connection, generally designated I33. By combination of the lateral sliding movement of the slides I28 and I32 and the longitudinal movement of the head I29, the four motion feed dog I21 is caused to follow a horizontal four-motion feed path as indicated at I34 in Figure 1. In other words on the effective portion of the travel of the feed dog it moves behind the can engaged by a chain lug just before reaching the end of the chain I23 and takes over the feeding of the can so as to move it away from the chain I23, onto the pad H9 and fully into the turret pocket presented at the preassembly station, and then on the return stroke said dog I2'I moves laterally and away from the can to its fully retracted position from which it will again move laterally and forwardly to properly come behind the filled can next brought along by a lug on the feed chain I23.

At the other end of the reciprocating thrust bar I22 there is secured a head I35, this head has upper and lower grippers I36 pivotally mounted on the upper and lower ends thereof. One gripper is equipped with an actuator roller I31 to one side of its pivotal connection with the head, and the other gripper is equipped with an actuator roller I38 disposed at the opposite side of its pivotal connection with the head. Each roller engages in a horizontal guide groove I39 mounted on a vertically reciprocable member I40, and it will be apparent that because of the relation of the roller I38 with respect to the pivotal mounting of the respective levers the ends of the grippers extended toward the turret pocket presented at the discharging station I will be moved apart each time the member I40 is lifted and will be moved together each time said member I40 is lowered. The member I40 is lifted as the bar I22 is moved into a direction for moving the grippers I 33 toward the turret, and then moves downwardly as the ends of the grippers nearest the turret come over and under the outer end of the closed can in the turret pocket presented at the discharge station so as to cause said grippers to grip the can above and below and retain the grip as the head I35 moves back with the reciprocating bar I22 thereby to withdraw the closed can from the turret pocket and place the same in position for being carried away by the chain conveyor I M. After each can has been withdrawn in the manner stated the member I40 again moves down so as to separate the grippers and position them Operation 1 Inoperation of the machine, a vacuum is. con.- tinuously drawn in the shoe 68, the turret pockets presented between the upper and lower seal plates 11 and 6t and in the interior of the. seaming head casing BI As each. filled can is presented at the end extremity of the feeder chain I23, that is at a point spaced from the turret B, the four-motion feed dog I21 moves in behind the can and then, movingin a rectilinear path pushes. the can? onto the preassembly pad I I9 and into the turret pocket 38 then presented at the; preassembly station E. After the can I25 has been fully seated in thepocket 38; the pad H9: is lifted. by actionof thecam groove i on the pad stem. roller 93. and the can is lii ted into preassembly contact with the complementary cover 91 in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 13. It frequently happens that a portion of the fill will project above the open. top of the can I25 and theupward movement of the can incident to the can and cover preassemblyabove referred to mighttend to. displace the complementary cover 9'! from the receiving ledge 40 in the pocket except for the contact of. the cover with the fixedlymounted abutment block H5 which is disposed over the turret pocket presented at the preassembly station. in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and Prior to arrival ci eachturret pocket at the preassembly station a cover- 91 is fed onto the receiving ledge it atthe cover feed station C, being definitely placed. in the pocket by action of the spring pressed: plate it? in the manner hereinbefore described. The pocket lugs 42 prevent radial outward: displacement of the covers, and upward displacement of the covers is prevented. by the arcuate hold-down plate I it while the covers are moving with the turret from the cover feed station 0 to the preassembly station E. The angular rela tion, of theterminus N3 of the plate M2 and. the

angular extension lid of the abutment block. liii assures that the covers will, not be caused teens. gage abrupt edge portions which might tend to displace them while travelling into a centeredpositionheneath the; block in the manner. illustrated Figure 13.

After a can and its complementary cover have been preassemhled at'station E in the manner above described, theturret pocket carrying the preassembled can moves between the lower and upper seal plates and i and. has the open outwardly directed portion thereof sealed by engagem out with the. vacuum shoe 63.. As the pocket openingregisters with the shoe clearance 59' and while'the pocket is travelling to the closing station G it will be evacuated andair will be evacuated; from the interior of. the filled can about the upper end of the can, and beneath the cover 91 which assembled but not secured on the can.

At the closing station E the vacuumized can is lifted through the opening it on the top seal plate ii and into contact with the chuck 95 of the seaming mechanism, after which the seaming rolls forming. a part of the seaming mechanism will be indexed to the discharge station I at which the gripper members J engage the can abov-eand below: and draw it out of the turret pocket and into position. for being engaged and conveyed away by the conveyor I42.

Whenever it is desired to gain free access to the closing station G or parts thereabout including the vacuum shoe and the cooperating upper and lower seal plates, the hand wheel 29 may be actuated to efiectia lifting of the seaming head supporting sleeve or support column 2d so as to free thebottompiate 8301? the casing 8i from the p1aciii-g boss iiiof the top seal plate ll. With the seaming head thus freed from the boss 19, the whole seaming head maybe swung about the axis or the supporting sleeve or column 25) and within the: frame well. ilzl to the out-of-the-way position ndicated in dot and dash lines in Figure 1. The provision of the thrust bearing 28] greatly facilitates this swinging. away of the seaming head, and by use of the latch bolt 36 and the sleeve or e'ol- *ecess 32' the seaming head may be securely he n the out-of-the-way position. It will also be" obvious that the. vertical adjustment of the seaming head will. greatly facilitate changing over the machine'tu adapt it for vacuumizing and closin'g cans of diffierent heights. If the heights and no other dimensions of the cans are changed it will only be necessary to replace the turret B and: the vacuum shoe G3 with parts of the neceseasy depthglmtii other dimensions of thecans are changed, it will,,of course, be necessary to change the sizes of the lifting and lowering pads and also to substitute appropriately sized top and bottom seal plates.

' While one form of the invention has been shown for: purposes of: illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined. in the appended claims.

.I: claim:

1 In1a. can closing machine, a frame, a plate supported: in horizontal position on said frame, a peripherally pocketed turret mounted uprightly on the: frame and extending beneath said plate,

brought into action to securely close and seal the can, after which the pad. ill will again lower the vacuumized and closed can to the level of the upper surface of the lower seal plate 66.

The vacuumized and closed can is thereafter saidplate having an. upstanding centering boss and a can passing opening therein, means for indexing the turret to serially present turret pockate and can and cover complements therein beneath said! opening, a. support column swingable about a verticalflaxis parallel to the axis about which the turret is indexed, a seaming head mounted on and swingable with said column and including a chuck and cooperating seaming devices within a casing having. a bottom plate equipped with an opening. dimensioned to snuglyrecei ve said boss, a vertically reciprocable pad for effectinga chucking of the serially" presented canand cover complements through. said plate opening, and means for lifting: and lowering the columnso that the head can rest upon said plate with itsboss in the bottom plate opening or be elevated clear of: said hoss and swung to an out-of-the-way position.

2. Machine structure as defined in claim 1. in which the column lifting and lowering means comprises a captive sleeve threadably connected with and surrounding the column and having a worm wheel portion, a worm gear rotatabiy supwhich the seaming head supporting column has a recess therein, and in which there is included a latch bolt slidably mounted on the frame and insertable into the recess when the head is swung to an out-of-the-way position for securing the head in said position.

4. Machine structure as defined in claim 1 in which the column lifting and lowering means comprises a captive sleeve threadably connected with and surrounding the column and having a worm wheel portion, a worm gear rotatably supported on the frame and meshing with the worm wheel, and a hand wheel secured to the worm gear for rotating the same, and in which the seaming head supporting column has a recess therein, and there is included a latch bolt slidably mounted on the frame and insertable into the recess when the head is swung to an out-ofthe-way position for securing the head in said position.

5. In a can vacuumizing and closing machine, a frame, a plate supported in horizontal position on said frame, a peripherally pocketed turret mounted uprightly on the frame and extending beneath said plate, said plate having an upstanding centering boss and a can passing opening therein and a sealing gasket surrounding said boss, means for indexing the turret to serially present turret pockets and can and cover complements therein beneath said opening, a support column rotatable about a vertical axis parallel the axis about which the turret is indexed, a seaming head mounted on and swingable coincidental with the rotary movement of said column and including a chuck and cooperating seaming devices within a casing having a bottom plate equipped with an opening dimensioned to snugly receive said boss, means through which a vacuum may be drawn in the seaming head and in a pocket communicating therewith through said boss opening, a vertically reciprocable pad for effecting a chucking of the serially presented can and cover complements through said plate opening, and means for lifting and lowering the column so that the head can rest upon said plate gasket for sealing the drawn vacuum and with the plate boss in the bottom plate opening or be elevated clear of said boss and swung to an outof -the-way position.

6. In a can vacuumizing and closing machine, a frame, a bottom seal plate and a top seal plate secured in parallel spaced relation on said frame, a peripherally pocketed turret mounted uprightly on the frame and having the upper and lower faces at one side thereof engaging in snug sliding fit between said plates, said top seal plate having an upstanding centering boss and a can passing opening therein and said bottom seal plate having an opening therein registering with the top seal plate opening, means for indexing the turret to serially present turret pockets and can and cover complements therein in line with said registering openings, a vacuum shoe secured between the seal plates and engaging in snug sliding fit against the periphery of the turret over a multiple of pockets, a support column rotatable about a vertical axis parallel the axis about which the turret is indexed, a seaming head mounted on and swingable coincidental with the rotary movement of said column and including a chuck and cooperating seaming devices within a casing having a bottom plate equipped with an opening dimensioned to snugly receive said boss, means through which a vacuum may be drawn in the shoe, the multiple of pockets opposing the shoe .7 12 and in the seaming head, a vertically reciprocable pad operable in the bottom seal plate opening for effecting a chucking of the serially presented can and cover complements through the top seal plate opening, and means for lifting and lowering the column so that the head can rest in vacuum sealing contact upon the top seal plate with the boss in the casing bottom plate opening or be elevated clear of said boss and swung to an out-of-the-way position.

'7. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which the seaming head supporting column has a recess therein, and in which there is included a latch bolt slidably mounted on the frame and insertable into the recess when the head is swung to an out-of-the-way position for securing the head in said position.

8. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which the column lifting and lowering means comprises a captive sleeve threadably connected with and surrounding the column and having a worm wheel portion, a worm gear rotatably supported on the frame and meshing with the worm wheel, and a hand wheel secured to the worm gear for rotating the same, and in which the seaming head supporting column has a recess therein, and there is included a latch bolt slidably mounted on the frame and insertable into the recess when the head is swung to an out-ofthe-way position for securing the head in said position.

9. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which each turret pocket includes a recess in which to receive a can cover, and in which is included a cover feed station and means thereat for feeding covers into the pocket recesses serially presented at the cover feed station, and a can and cover preassembly station, means for feeding a can into each pocket presented at the preassembly station and beneath the cover therein, and a vertically reciprocable pad onto which the cans are pushed at the preassembly station and which is timed to lift each can into preassembly contact with the overlying complementary cover after the can has been pushed all the way into the respective pocket, and a fixedly mounted abutment block closely overlying each pocket carried cover presented at said preassembly station.

10. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which each turret pocket includes a recess in which to receive a can cover, and in which is included a cover feed station and means thereat for feeding covers into the pocket recesses serially presented at the cover feed station, and a can and cover preassembly station, means for feeding a, can into each pocket presented at the preassembly station and beneath the cover there in, and a vertically reciprocable pad onto which the cans are pushed at the preassembly station and which is timed to lift each can into preassembly contact with the overlying complementary cover after the can has been pushed all the way into the respective pocket, and an abutment block closely overlying each pocket carried cover presented at said preassembly station, said abutment block being fixedly secured to and swingable with the seaming head.

11. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which each turret pocket includes a recess in which to receive a can cover, and in which is included a cover feed station and means thereat for feeding covers into the pocket recesses serially presented at the cover feed station, and a can and cover preassembly station, means for feeding a can into each pocket presented at the preassembly station and beneath the cover therein, and a vertically reciprocable pad onto which the cans are pushed at the preassernbly station and which is timed to lift each can into preassembly contact with the overlying complementary cover after the can has been pushed all the into the respective pocket, a fixedly mounted abutment clock closely overlying each pocket carried cover presented at said preassemlily station, and a hold. down plate overlying turret pockets in their travel between the cover feed station and the preassembly station, said hold down plate and said abutment block having their under surfaces disposed in a common plane and including mutually contacting edge portions bearing angular relation to a line extended radially from the center of the turret.

12. In a machine of the character described, an indexed turret having a plurality of equidistantly spaced peripherally open pockets shaped to receive rectangular can bodies each said poclzet having a ledge recess in which to receive a cover to fit on a can received in said pocket, overhanging lugs mounted at the outer limits of each ledge recess and effective to confine a cover against radial outward movement on said ledge, a cover feed station, means at said station for feeding a cover radially inwardly over the lugs and onto the ledge of each pocket presented at said station, and a single presser means mounted at said station with which each pocket registers as it is presented at said. station and effective for pressing the trailing edge portion of each cover so fed onto said ledge as said trailing edge portion passes inwardly beyond the particular pocket lugs.

13. In a machine of the character described, an indexed turret having a plurality of equidistantly spaced peripherally open pockets shaped to receive rectangular can bodies each said pocket having a ledge recess in which to receive a cover to fit on a can received in said pocket. overhanging lugs mounted at the outer limits or each ledge recess and effective to confine a cover against radial outward movement on said ledge, a cover feed station, means at said station for feeding a cover over the lugs and onto the ledge of each pocket presented at said station, and means mounted at said station with which each pocket registers as it is presented at said station. and ex?- fective for downwardly pressing the trailing edge portion of each cover so fed onto said ledge as said trailing edge portion passes inwardly beyond the particular pocket lugs, said last named means comprising a plate supported in position for overlying each pocket as it is presented at the cover feed station, stationarily mounted means for pivotally supporting the plate at the end thereof nearest the turret center, and means yieldably urging the plate downwardly at the end thereof remote from the turret center and overlying the outer extremities of the underlying cover ledge.

14. In a machine of the character described in which there are provided a cover feed station, a cover and can preassembly station, a can closing station, and a peripherally pocketed turret which is indexed to serially present the pockets at said stations, a fixedly mounted abutment block closely overlying each pocket carried cover presented at the preassembly station, a hold down plate overlying turret pockets in their travel between the cover feed station and the preassembly station and having an end thereof extended in close proximity to the abutment block, a bracket hingedly mounted so as to be swingable between operative and out-of-t -e-way positions and supporting the hold down plate, each turret pocket having a ledge recess in which to receive a cover complementary to a can to be received in the same pocket, overhanging lugs mounted at the outer limits of each ledge recess and eirective to confine a, cover against radial outward movement on said ledge, and means carried by said bracket for pressing the trailing edge portion of each cover onto said ledge as said trailing edge portion passes inwardly over the particular pocket lugs.

15. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which the mean through which the vacuum may be drawn includes a duct in the frame and opening upwardly into the vacuum shoe.

16. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which the means through which the vacuum may be drawn includes a, duct in the frame and opening upwardly into the vacuum shoe, and in which there is included in the frame a spill duct surrounding the chucking pad and connecting with said frame duct.

17. Machine structure as defined in claim 6 in which the means through which the vacuum may be drawn includes a. duct in the frame and opening upwardly into the vacuum shoe, and in which there are included a spill duct surrounding the chucking pad and connecting with said frame duct, a spill trap into which the frame duct deposits, and a suction duct connected with the frame duct above said trap.

ALFRED L. KRONQUEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 865,413 Mauran Sept. 10, 1907 1,506,099 Wilson Aug. 26, 1924 1,605,565 Rooney Nov. 2, 1926 1,751,643 Malmquist Mar. 25, 1930 1,841,590 Gray Jan. 19, 1932 1,863,652 Drew June 21, 1932 2,047,423 Mallory July 14, 1936 2,062,024 Guenther Nov. 24, 1936 2,119,665 Cameron June 7, 1938 2,188,939 Cameron Feb. 6, 1940 2,220,137 Wilkinson Nov. 5, 1940 

